MOKHATLO OA BA ITHUSANG HO ITSEBELETSA METSENG
|
MOKHATLO OA BA ITHUSANG HO ITSEBELETSA METSENG |
|
In 1995 RSDA began to implement a new project which focused on agricultural extension services, Machobane Farming system (MFS), and permaculture as its main pillars. In addition, donga rehabilitation, afforestation and communal gardening were promoted in a holistic program under the title "Sustainable Land Use Project" (SLUP). The program was extended into the second phase up until 2001. Based on feedback from rural populations RSDA pursues activities which respond well to farmers' needs and address the major agro-ecological and socio-economic problem of the region. To this end the methodological approaches and improved methods which are demonstrably suitable to the region have been adopted in the policy formulation as well in the extension approach.
Developed in Lesotho by James Machobane in the 1950's, this indigenous cropping method efficiently utilizes local resources and agricultural knowledge. Through the interaction of manuring, relay cropping and intercropping the Machobane Farming System (MFS) provides crops almost year round while ensuring that some crops will survive even if drought or pests destroys a particular harvest; in short the system maximizes arable land and harvest output to provide greater food security. The MFS involves a timed series of field polycultures consisting chiefly of maize, beans and curcabits, sorghum and potatoes, and winter wheat and peas. RSDA takes an active role in organizing groups of farmers, providing training and some subsidized inputs such as seeds, environmentally friendly tilling implements afforestation trees etc. To promote the preservation of indigenous germ plasm, RSDA encourages farmers to engage in the seed multiplication of Open Pollinated Varieties (OPV) of common cultivars and each year the organization hosts a farmers Seed Fair for the exhibition of local seeds. The hundreds of farmers in Phamong and Sephula working with RSDA extention officers over the years have met with great success in increasing yields and overall food security.
Permaculture is the practice of integrating and connecting indigenous resources with available appropriate technology in diverse and productive systems which mimic natural ecological processes. The design philosophy includes the multiple use criterion which holds that each element in the design should serve more than one function and thus support other elements (for example chickens aside from their traditional uses can provide manure for a garden and even prepare soil by scratching and scavenging at the appropriate times). In the case of Lesotho, RSDA emphasizes the practical value of minimum tillage, tree crops, microlivestock, perennial plants, keyhole plots and soil-building combinations of grasses, legumes and nitrogen-fixing trees and shrubs and so on. In designing household and primary school permaculture sites RSDA also stresses the importance of maintaining diversity and complexity, and of organizing plants, animals and human activities into an integrated and self-sustaining agricultural landscape.
Because of periodic drought conditions, water harvesting is a key to implementing permaculture site designs, and RSDA advocates and assists with the construction of roof water harvesting tanks made from locally available stone.
